Falcons 19, Cowboys 13 – Final

They might have pulled it off if Ryan’s guys had played better in the second half.

Taking advantage of shoddy tackling and other costly mistakes by the Cowboys defense, the Falcons improved to 8-0 with a hard-fought 19-13 win Sunday night at the Georgia Dome that put the visitor’s playoff hopes on life support.

Dallas is 3-5 after losing two straight and four of its last five. The Cowboys blew an opportunity to gain ground in the NFC East on the first-place New York Giants, which is 6-3 after losing to Pittsburgh earlier in the day.

“Our guys played hard, but we just didn’t play well enough to beat this team,” said Jason Garrett, who is 16-16 as the Cowboys coach.

“It was a challenging game for us. They are a good team. They’ve won eight games for a reason and we had to play better than they did, and we didn’t do it.

“We have to stay together. We have another big challenge next week going to Philadelphia.”

The Falcons put the game away with a 12-play, 66-yard drive that lasted 5:04 and ended with Matt Bryant kicking a 32-yard field goal that concluded the scoring with 17 seconds left.

The big play in the march was a 31-yard pass from Matt Ryan to Jacquizz Rodgers on third-and-6 from the Atlanta 24. Dallas cornerback Orlando Scandrick made contact with Rodgers at the 26, but the running back easily slipped away.

Three plays later, Scandrick compounded that error with a holding penalty on another third down, giving Atlanta possession at the Dallas 38.

On the Cowboys’ final possession, Tony Romo hit four straight passes, but the game ended with Falcons cornerback Dunta Robinson tackling Felix Jones at the Atlanta 23.

In losing their eighth-straight Sunday night game, Dallas allowed Michael Turner to gain 84 of his 102 rushing yards in the second half. The ninth-year veteran scored his team’s only touchdown of the game on a 3-yard run, giving the Falcons a 13-6 lead early in the fourth.

Turner set up the score with a 43-yard run, the longest given up this season by the Cowboys. In dashing down the right sideline, he broke a tackle by safety Danny McCray and easily outraced linebacker Ernie Sims to the corner.

A 36-yard field goal by Bryant increased Atlanta’s lead to 16-6. The kick came four plays after Dallas Pro Bowl linebacker DeMarcus Ware failed to wrap up wide receiver Julio Jones after he took a pitch in the backfield on third and one at the Cowboys’ 26.

After easily slipping past Ware, Jones ripped off an 8-yard run. Had Ware made the tackle, the Falcons would have been forced to punt.

In all, Atlanta converted 50 percent (7 of 14) of its third down attempts. Dallas, meanwhile, converted just 30 percent (3 of 10).

Picking primarily on rookie cornerback Morris Claiborne, Matt Ryan was 24 of 34 for 342 yards without a turnover in winning for the 30th time in 35 starts at the Georgia Dome.

Roddy White led the Falcons with seven catches for 118 yards. Jones finished with five catches for 129 yards. Bryant finished with four field goals.

The Cowboys were turnover free for the first time this season. Romo completed 25 of 35 for 321 yards with one TD, a 21-yard strike to Kevin Ogletree that trimmed Atlanta’s lead to 16-13 with 5:21 left.

Jason Witten had seven catches, giving him a Cowboys record 754 for his career. He broke Hall of Fame receiver Michael Irvin’s previous record with a 7-yard catch with 6:41 left.

torsborn@express-news.net

Cowboys, Falcons head into fourth quarter tied 6-6

ATLANTA – The Cowboys and Falcons remain tied 6-6 after three quarters Sunday night at the Georgia Dome.

The Falcons ended the quarter at the Cowboys’ 11-yard line after a 43-yard run by Michael Turner.

Tight end Jason Witten tied Michael Irvin as the Cowboys’ all-time receptions leader with a 2-yard catch midway through the quarter.

ATLANTA – Matt Bryant’s 46-yard field goal as time expired in the first half pulled the Falcons into a 6-6 tie with the Cowboys on Sunday night at the Georgia Dome.

The kick capped a six-play, 60-yard drive that lasted 63 seconds and included a 20-yard pass from Matt Ryan to Roddy White on third-and-5 from the Atlanta 17-yard line. Ryan set up the field goal with consecutive passes of 12 and 15 yards to future Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez.

All of the points in the first half came via field goals.

The Cowboys’ Tony Romo has completed 10 of 17 for 153 yards without a turnover. The Falcons’ Matt Ryan is 12 of 17 for 155 yards without a turnover.

Dallas holds a slim 182-178 edge in total yards, while Atlanta leads in first downs 9-8.

Cowboys nose tackle Jay Ratliff left the game late in the first half with what appeared to be an injured leg.

ATLANTA – The upset-minded Cowboys jumped out to an early 6-0 lead over the undefeated Falcons on a pair of field goals by Dan Bailey Sunday night.

A 46-yard punt return by Dwayne Harris set up the first kick, a 23-yarder. The Cowboys had to settled for a 37-yard field goal after Tony Romo threw a 65-yard pass to Kevin Ogletree on third-and-20 from the Dallas 17.